The British government and the PSNI police are set to defy a
coroner's ruling that they hand over unedited documentation
relating to the killings of ten County Tyrone nationalists
during the 1990s. After a delay of two years and 12
preliminary hearings, when the British Ministry of Defence
(MoD) and the PSNI refused to produce all relevant material,
coroner Roger McLernon has now ordered the MoD and PSNI to
produce all intelligence documents relevant to the killings
within 21 days so the inquests of Roseanne Mallon, Jack and
Kevin McKearney and of seven IRA Volunteers can go ahead.

In 1991, Volunteers Pete Ryan, Lawrence McNally and Tony Doris
were ambushed and killed in Coagh, County Tyrone. Roseanne
Mallon was shot dead by loyalists in 1994 while the UVF killed
Jack McKearney and his nephew Kevin in 1992.

Also in 1992, IRA Volunteers Kevin Barry O'Donnell, Peter
Clancy, Sean O'Farrell and Patrick Vincent were executed at
Clonoe, outside Cookstown, County Tyrone, by the SAS.

"We further expect that the compellability element of the
inquest be invoked and the SAS members and relevant RUC
members who were involved in these killings be brought to the
court," she said.

Ui Mhuiri stressed that the families wanted those involved in
the killings to appear in court so that the "inquest gets to
the bottom of who sanctioned and directed these killings".

Martin Mallon, whose 76-year-old aunt was killed by loyalists
in his house while it was under British Army surveillance, has
called for the videotape from the surveillance operation to be
handed over "in full and undoctored".

Mark Thompson of the human rights group, Relatives for
Justice, warned that he expected British Minister Geoff Hoon
of the MoD and Northern Secretary Paul Murphy to issue Public
Interest Immunity Certificates (PIIC) and refuse the coroner's
order. By refusing to hand over the relevant documentation,
the British government and PSNI will not only be defying the
coroner, they will also be in breach of the European Court of
Human Rights.

According to Thompson, "the Article 2 ruling of May 2001 found
that the inquest court, and indeed all domestic investigative
procedures, were in default of the British government's
obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

"As yet there has been no official changes to the inquest
court in compliance with the May 2001 ruling. As such, the
coroner's ruling will be measured against a series of
continued failings on the part of the British government to
implement the necessary requirements in accordance with their
international obligations."

Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew described the ruling as "an
important step forward in the search for truth.

"The refusal of the British MoD and the PSNI to give the
families access to unedited evidence has been detrimental to
these inquest proceedings," she said.

"The British state will go to any length to prevent the truth
about the policies of collusion and shoot to kill coming out."